Brutal Legend Control
by Fire Inu Princess
Summary: Edward is having nightmares of him losing control over himself. But why is that? Is it a warning or just the remains of nightmares that he hasn't had since he was a child? Maybe it was something more but either way, it scared him to think that he would do such a thing as harm or worse kill his friends. But, he was grateful for Ophelia who believed in him.


The sun slowly started to set on the horizon, hard to believe that he was still in a world that was all about metal. Yet, for a certain tall, raven haired muscular roadie? It was almost like a dream come true. He knew that he had been brought here for a reason, and that reason was to help everyone through this rebellion. So, he had started to help them, teach them everything that he could teach them about the way of Heavy Metal.

The way of true rock.

Though it was a long and dangerous way, that was for sure, but at the same time he didn't really give two fucks. This was something that he had to do.

Yet, the one thing that he has noticed, that he couldn't tell anyone else was that for a few weeks now he had been having rather terrible nightmares. Nightmares that he remembered having as a child, his father coming into his room late in the night from the sound of young Eddie's screams. The way he would cry against his father's side, telling him what he could remember of the nightmares.

His father's wisdom?

_"Son, so long as you have a heart that is true to who you are. An idea as it were, to who you are, and what you wish to be, who you wish to protect more than anyone in this world or any world, you will never succumb to that nightmare. You are my son, as well as your mother's after all."_

Those words he still held close to his heart even now. Words, the only bit of wisdom that he really kept with him. That, and the belt buckle that he had found in his father's attic.

Now though, the nightmares came back, much worse than he remembered. Worse than any child's nightmare could ever hope to be, and they were only getting worse and worse. It was as if, ever since he started to help in this war, that he had started to have those nightmares again.

Shaking his head, the young man knew that he couldn't allow those thoughts to haunt him. He had to keep his focus, his wits about him so he could keep his focus on his enemies in this war. To make sure that he could keep inspiring everyone in his war. Taking a deep breath, he looked on ahead at the battle that was before him. Seeing as how hard everyone was fighting for what was right. To stop the demons from ruining these lands.

Yet, if he was honest with himself? He didn't want to fight the demons either. They had to only be doing what they were doing because of their emperor. Nothing more. Though he had to squelch that feeling down and ignore it. Much like how he has had to ignore everything else in his life.

Rushing forward, swinging his mighty axe at an enemy here, switching from his axe to his guitar Clementine as bolts of lightning shot out and struck the demons. Honestly, Eddie knew that he couldn't allow this war to keep going, couldn't allow anyone to die in cold blood. He had to protect everyone, had to keep them all safe.

That was his job as a roadie after all.

The job to protect the band, to make sure that they were never hurt.

Just as he was about to attack once more, he felt something at his back. A sharp, deep pain as if something had impaled his spine. Letting out a yell, a cry "Ahh, my baaaaack!" He let out another groan as he fell over onto his hands and knees. Body trembling to support his weight as he struggled to push himself back up.

"Eddie, what is it?" came a concerned voice, the voice of Ophelia, the one that he loved deeply. The one person that he wanted to be with more than anything in this world. Someone that he could easily trust to have his back as much as he would have hers in a battle. Anything he would do, he would do in order to help her, to save her from the demons that would dare lay a finger on her. Yet, he couldn't tell her the truth about the pain.

At least not all of it. Maybe he was over thinking this, maybe it was really not what he was truly thinking. After all…

It's only a nightmare right?

"Nothing, I think I just got shot in the back. Is there something stuck in there? Could you pull it out?" He asked of her, hoping that there really wasn't anything there, yet at the same time he worried that there would be something there that shouldn't be. The fear that he tried to keep hidden in the depths of his mind starting to resurface once again. Dear god he hoped that wasn't the case.

Trying hard not to shudder from the pain, Eddie felt Ophelia placing a hand over his back, tracing her fingers along his spine as if hoping that she could find something there. Anything that would alert her to a bullet to an arrow. Anything, please allow it to be _anything _other than what was going on through his head.

"I think what ever hit you… it's gone."

Eddie couldn't help but look at her in shock and confusion for a moment. Was it really him allowing the nightmare to take its hold on him during the fight? Or was he just really hit and it had just grazed him? He didn't know, but knew that… since there is nothing there, maybe he could handle the fight now. Seeing the still concerned gaze of the brown haired woman whom he had grown to care for. It hurt him to see her so worried about him.

Pushing himself up, noticing that most of the pain was gone. More tolerable at the very least. That had to mean something. Head dipped down, hair falling forward and over his shoulders. God he wanted a smoke. "Ah, don't worry about it then. I'm sure I'll feel better after I kill some guys." He said, rolling his shoulders a little as he pulled his axe out into his iron grip.

Though, really he didn't know how to feel. Reaching up, he scratched at his black sideburns before rubbing at his chin, feeling the little nervous, and maybe afraid of the nightmare coming true. It was such a terrible memory.

He could see himself, high in the sky. Wings beating at the air around him as it kept him up into the air. A yellow glow that made a shiver run down his spine. There was no way that he wanted that to happen, what if it did come try? What if he did end like that?

Shaking his head, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a smoke and placed it between his lips before flicking his lighter on to ignore the cigarette. Hoping that the Tabaco would help him relax. Better yet, maybe killing some guys would make him feel better after all.

It was nothing more than a dream…

Right?

* * *

The journey was long and hard. Eddie, even though he hated to admit it, had fallen asleep on the drive. Having decided, that once the roads had been safe that he would let Ophelia drive. Not that she complained about it much, honestly, it made her happy to try to drive on her own.

Yet, he couldn't help but doze out of consciousness. He was just so exhausted. All he wanted was to sleep, and relax but he just couldn't before. Now though? He was regretting that choice.

_Blood, everything was surrounded by blood and gore. Normally, something like this would have made the best cover for a metal album. This though? This whole thing, Eddie knew was far from such a thing. This was… well, he didn't really know what it was. All he knew, was that this was something that could be trying to warn him, or it was some kind of vision._

_"Lars? Lita? Mangus? Ophelia? Where are you?!" He called out, hoping to get some kind of signal, some kind of answer. An idea that they were indeed alright and alive for that matter. There had to be something that they could do to show him or alert him that they were alive._

_Yet, there was nothing._

_Running across the field, Eddie looked around, trying to find any sign that IronHeade was even here. That they had managed to defeat the demons that they had been after. That they had won this revolution. Yet, once again he would see nothing. "Please, please be okay." He pleaded. Pleaded with all of his heart that the Titans wouldn't allow such a thing to happen to his friends, they were the only thing that made him want to stay in this world._

_"Someone just answer me!" He shouted, only to yelp as he fell and started to roll down the hill. Spikes that had been imbedded into the ground would cut his flesh here and there, causing him to curse under his breath. Or, to be more precise… "Fucking shit! Ow! Fuck! Shit! Damn it!" Louder than fuck now wouldn't it?_

_Rolling down the hill as quickly as his body would allow him, Eddie yelped as he hit what would be seen as a small ramp and fell on the ground, face first. Yet, he noticed that he had fallen onto something soft at the very least. Letting out a soft groan, he tried to push himself up though had a little bit of difficulty trying to get himself back up onto his feet._

_"Just what the fuck am I even standing on anyway?" He grumbled to himself and when he looked down, getting some light from the sun that had risen into the sky._

_His blood went cold as ice._

_Looking down in horror, were the disfigured bodies of his friends. The people who easily welcomed here to their world with open arms._

_And they were dead._

_Lars had his head missing, most likely removed by a sword or something else that was equally sharp. Lita, she almost looked like someone tried to play tug of war with her limbs, as only some of them are missing, and which ones weren't seemed twisted and bent in the wrong directions. Then they had left her to bleed to death. To think, two siblings, having the same death to a certain degree._

_Mangus, most of his hair was gone, burned off, as well as his flesh. If it wasn't for the headset he wore, as well as what Eddie could make out of the tattoos, he wouldn't have known that it was his buddy who drove the bus. To help keep everything in check even if he was a little slow with a few things sometimes. He still meant well with what he did. Eddie thought he was still the best at what he was doing. Now he was gone._

_Looking around, he saw that Ophelia wasn't here. Did that mean that she was still alive? Did she try looking for him to make sure that he was alive or was it that she had ran off to fight off the demon that had attacked their friends? Or maybe, she had gone off to recover, Kill Master had to be here somewhere. Right? Ophelia had to have gone to go get herself healed, then they could go get the demon that killed their friends._

_Right?_

_Taking a shuddering breath, hoping to calm his nerves down, the young man started to push himself up, moving away from the bodies of his dead friends. He couldn't help but give them one last glance as he whispered "I'll kill the fucker that did this to you. I promise." He nodded before he started to run on ahead. He had to find Ophelia, she had to know who it was that had attacked them. Had it been Lionwhyte? He had to have been the one that had killed his friends. But, he seemed so pathetic, so how was it that he had been able to kill his friends?_

_Shaking his head, Eddie ran as quickly as he could, calling out for well, anyone that would hear him. Yet, the name he would yell out the most of course was Ophelia's. Maybe the head bangers were with her? Maybe the Razor Girls? Anyone could be with her to keep her safe, there had to be something, anything that would allow her to remain safe until he could get there._

_"Ophelia! Please speak to me! Please let me know you are okay!" shouted Eddie, only to slip on the wet grass as he fell into a puddle._

_Of blood._

_Pushing himself back up he couldn't help but stare at the puddle in shock, but what he also noticed was that it still had something dripping down from it, causing him to tremble a little as he slowly looked up. The sound of flapping was heard, making him think that some kind of bat was around, that it was flying around taking the bodies of those who had died._

_Instead, it had done the opposite._

_It had dropped a body, one that he knew all too well._

_Eyes widening, Eddie couldn't help but stare at the dead body of the woman he loved. Her eyes, wide and filled with pain, shock, and betrayal. "Ophelia." He whispered softly. She had bite marks all over her, a few gashes as if she had been slashed at by something or another. Maybe claws? He couldn't be sure. But he knew that he wouldn't allow this to stand._

_Reaching back, he went to grab his Separator, but the axe wasn't there. As was Clementine. He had no weapons, no way to defend himself. "Shit!" He whispered before looking up and staring in shock. There was no way that Eddie could fight like this, there had to be some way out of this? Turning his gaze back to Ophelia, he took a deep breath before he lifted her in his arms. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here." He felt tears prickling his eyes, he had failed to protect her._

_The one thing that he had promised himself in doing. It was to make sure that Ophelia was safe and happy. He failed her and their friends. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry." He whispered before holding the woman closely to his chest, staining his favourite t-shirt. After those words, the roadie pushes himself back up and made an attempt to run before a figure dropped in from the sky, blocking his path._

_He could make out a pair of red bat wings, red skin and glowing yellow eyes that could easily make any man tremble. Yet, Eddie just stood his ground, or at least he tried to do so. He knew that figure, not sure where from but he knew where it was from._

_"You killed them." It whispered, fangs glinting in the dim light, dripping crimson. The monster chuckled as it added "You are the one that killed them after all."_

_"No you're fucking lying! I'd never do that! They're my friends!" shouted Eddie, not wanting to believe a thing that this monster told him._

_"Oh, but it is the truth. Just look at her, why do you think she wasn't in as worse of shape?" The roadie gulped as he looked down at the brunette woman in his arms. Her body was the most intact compared to the others. She only had bites and slashes on her. "Because we care about her, I made sure she enjoyed herself before draining her of blood. Her blood was rather sweet." Chuckled the monster, causing Eddie to glare before setting his love down and rushed forward. Screaming at the top of his lungs._

_Yet, when the monster's face came into view, Eddie let out a scream of terror._

Letting out a scream, Eddie was breathing deeply as he looked around, the car wasn't moving anymore. Had they stopped? When was that?

"Eddie?" came Ophelia's voice, causing the roadie to look over at her. Hair whipping around as he stares at her in shock. Her skin, still aglow with life, and not a single bite or slash across her skin. "Hey you okay?" She asked softly.

Before he could stop himself, he quickly pulled Ophelia into his arms and held onto her tightly. Breathing deeply, he whispered "You're alive, oh thank the Titans you are alive." The dreams, no the nightmares were getting far too emotional for him. It was one thing to torment him when he was a child that was normal. Yet, for an adult it was even worse.

"What happened?" asked Ophelia.

"I… I don't think you'd believe me." Eddie whispered before pulling himself back, letting out a deep shaky breath. The remains of the nightmare lingered a little while longer, his body trembling before finally settling.

"Try me." Ophelia challenged.

Eddie sighed softly and began to tell her. Leaning back in his chair with an arm over his eyes as he explained as much as he could. Body letting out a tremor at the images that would flash through his head, but knew that he couldn't allow himself to wallow back into those memories, into that nightmare thinking that it would have had a true hold over him.

Once the tale was done, Eddie blinked as he felt an arm wrap itself around his shoulders, pulling him close to her. "Eddie, you don't have to worry about anything. It's just a nightmare."

"How can you be sure Oph's? I had these nightmares before as a child but… they weren't as bad back then compared to now." Eddie whispered, finding comfort in her embrace. "My dad had helped me get through them, a child grows up. Yet, I've had these nightmares a few weeks now."

"That's why you've been waking up in the night." Ophelia said, making Eddie think that maybe she had been hearing him walking around in the night hoping to let out the energy the nightmare left him. Maybe she waited to make sure that he would go back to sleep, or to make sure that if he needed someone to talk to that she would be the one to make sure that he was okay.

"You are a strong man Eddie. That is one thing that I admire about you, because of how you're so strong. Whatever this is, whatever the nightmare means, I'm sure that there is nothing to worry about." Ophelia gave him a small smile before letting out a laugh before kissing his cheek, causing the roadie to blush. "If there is anything that I know for sure, that should anything happen, I'll be there to help you. I will fight to make sure that you never lose yourself. I will fight to save you, much like how you have done so much for all of us."

Eddie blinked in shock before giving a small smile. Of course she would make sure that she would look out for him. Wanting to make sure that he would be looked after, much like how he would always look after everyone else. Chuckling, he said "Thank you."

"You're welcome Eddie, now let's get set up shall we?"

"Hell yeah!"

* * *

The battles were exhausting, tiring and it made Eddie want to either play some metal or to have a nap or both. Dreaming of metal was at least something that he could enjoy. But knew that they had to do something. Though it seemed that everyone was rather exhausted, and that they needed this as much as everyone else.

Yet, he was still grateful for the distraction. With what Ophelia said to him, it helped to bring him a little of peace for the time being. Then of course, the battle was enough to take his mind off of it completely. At least during that time, now all he could do was try to get the music to start playing. He had to do this, this was something that had to be done. The fans needed this.

This was at least something that he rather enjoyed, but just hoped that he could keep going like this. Then there was that small pain in his back still. Even after it had come, it had never really faded, it had merely dulled into feel like he had some pins and needles in his spine, nothing more really.

Making his way over to the bus and Mangus, Eddie chuckled as he called out to the engineer. "Mangus!" Called out Eddie.

"Hey boss." The long haired tattoo man said with a grin.

"Ready?"

"Uh… just about. Is it time?" asked Mangus.

"Mangus, the hour of rock is upon us." Eddie said as he raised his hand, clenching it into a fist as he lowered it slowly to add more of a dramatic flair.

"Oh man, okay." Mangus said as he scratched at his head. Tucking his hands under his arms, Mangus looked over at the others as he called out "Break's over people!" After that, everyone cheered as they started to get to work. Honestly, Eddie couldn't help but feel pride for this. Everyone was working hard to make the stage, to make sure that this would be an epic show. To show how metal was meant to be.

The stage was coming along, such as the lights, the stage, the background that resembled the god of flames. The same one that resided on his belt buckle.

Honestly, Eddie didn't think it would be going so well at this rate. Since he woke up this morning from his nightmare, he had felt a little better. Ophelia had made it her mission for the day to try to make things easier on him, and for that he was thankful. Now, if only he could get her to love him, much like how he loved her.

Taking a deep breath, he started to work on the lights, wanting to make sure that everything was going the way it should be with setting the stage up.

So far so good it seems though. "Just hope we don't have to deal with any asshole demons today." Grumbled Eddie, maybe a nap after this would make him feel better. Letting out a soft sigh, it had seemed as if everything had finally started to catch up to him. His mind clouded by some of the nights that he had missed sleeping. Maybe after this he could catch up on some sleep. He really needed it at this point.

Soon, before he knew what it was that was happening, the stage was set and done. The moment the curtains had gone down, the geysers had burst with the glowing green people. The fans.

Eddie grinned brightly, they seemed so happy. Happy to have some awesome music to listen too, for that he would be happy to see such joy on people's faces. Now, he just hoped that everything would go the way it should now. Just when he was about to give the signal, when he heard something. Memories from his nightmares hit him till he could hear the slight difference. These beats were heavier, as if they were carrying something far heavier than it was before.

Looking up, he saw the strangest things. Were those… leeches with wings?

The winged beasts let out a roar before shooting downward, latching onto the geysers much like a baby would latch onto their mothers to feed. This made Eddie want to both retch, but also pissed.

"Oh my god." Lars said with shock.

"Get away from those fans! You…" Eddie paused for a moment, his anger was bubbling to the surface, not really sure if those really hurt the fans or not while being fed upon, but he didn't want to take that chance. "You _leeches!"_ It was then, that Eddie felt that pain once again. Just along the base of his spine, eyes widened for a brief moment as he reached behind his back, holding onto the spot of his pain and it only seemed to have made the pain so much worse.

Eddie let out a gasp of pain as he fell over from it all. His body unable to hold himself back up as he landed onto his hands and knees. "Boss!" yelled Mangus.

"Eddie!" Ophelia called out in concern.

"My baaaaaaa-!" He felt his eyes widening from the pain, something squirmed under his skin, moving around as if it was trying to find a way out. To make an exit, which resulted in so much more pain for the roadie. Letting out a scream, Eddie felt something breaking through his skin, from what Mangus and Ophelia could see it almost seemed like spikes were trying to fight their way out of the man's flesh, either to rip him in half or worse.

Eddie dug his fingertips into the earth, as if hoping that would keep his hold onto the world while this pain tried to take its hold over him. Crying out from the pain, he felt his blood starting to boil from the inside out. It almost felt like everything was on fire within him, people talked around him, but he couldn't hear them. No one got through to him as he kept screaming, which only grew in volume from the unbearable pain that he was being put through.

He felt his blood pulsation along with the beat of his heart, everything was starting to darken at the edges of his vision. The last thing he heard was Ophelia's voice as she screamed out his name and a loud roar echoed in his ears.

* * *

Ophelia couldn't believe at what she was seeing. Everyone backed up as Eddie screamed in agony, first being the spikes protruding from his back, and growing into what could be seen as red bat wings that had spiked points along the edges. His hair almost seemed to have gained some kind of red tint to it, just like how his skin darkened. Wait, were those claws forming at his fingertips?

Gulping in worry, Ophelia tried to step toward Eddie, but Lars pulled her back. "We don't know what's wrong with him!" He shouted.

"It must have been one of the Druids at the temple. They had cut Eddie while we were there and they must have had some kind of strange demon venom." Ophelia lied, hoping that they would believe her lie. This was one way to protect Eddie, that what he really was, was never discovered. Did he even know what he was? No, he couldn't have known, from what he had told her about the nightmare, it seemed that he had no clue as to what he was or at the very least of who his parents really were.

Eddie's skin turned darker turning into a shade mixed of light red and brown, making it dark to others in some areas. Ophelia saw that his bangs covered his face from her view. But even she could see the glint of fangs poking out from his gums as he screamed in his pain.

"How are you so sure that this is what is causing this?!" shouted Lita.

Ophelia wasn't sure, but she knew that she had to sell this lie. It was the only thing that could ensure Eddie's safety, he was the one that could save them in this war, to make sure that they won in the end. "The Druids were praying at the temple. I was there, hoping to get the axe that Eddie is using and it made me think, maybe the venom had been blessed during their ritual where it could make anyone seem like a demon. Eddie is human, so his body can't handle the overload of power like this." God she hoped that it would make sense.

"That could be plausible." Lars said.

"But what is happening to Boss otherwise?! Will he be alright?" asked Mangus.

Honestly? She had no idea, but knew that Eddie needed help. Slowly, she made her way over toward Eddie, Lars though had tried to grab her but she held up her hand. "No, I need to make sure that he's okay. I'm the only one that may be able to calm him down." Ophelia said before carefully making her way to the roadie before her.

He still remained in the same position, breathing heavily from the pain, his wings laid limp on the ground. She had to admit, his wings were rather cool. Strong and she wondered if they were as strong as most demons could be. Though at the moment, she didn't want to take the chance. Taking a deep breath, she whispered "Eddie?"

He flinched, a soft growl escaped him and it made her wonder if his mind had disappeared from his demonic blood. Had it consumed him like how he feared from his nightmares? Stealing her nerves, Ophelia made her way over toward him as she carefully placed a hand on his shoulder. "Eddie, whatever it is, I can help you."

Eddie grunted in pain, his fingers digging more into the earth below him as if he was trying to keep himself there. Maybe there was still a part of him that was in control over himself. Did he still have some kind of control or was he just near the edge of disappearing all together? "Eddie, are you still there? Please? Say something."

"G…" Eddie tried to speak, it seemed that he was trying to speak to her. "Get…" Get? Get what? Ophelia looked at the wings, went to brush her fingertips onto the leathery wings but he flinched. _"Get away!"_ He growled out, his face turned to her and in that moment, she saw his yellow eyes. The last thing that she saw of Eddie, was his pupils and irises before they slowly started to vanish.

"Eddie!" Ophelia called out to him just as his wings flapped so roughly that Ophelia had to shield her face from the dust and dirt that went flying around the two of them. The force of the wind knocking her off of her feet, she screamed out in shock as she fell and landed on her back with a groan.

"Ophelia!" shouted Lars, Lita and Mangus, rushing toward her just as they watched Eddie fly off with another scream, no not a scream. A roar of anger and pain.

Breathing deeply, looking up at the sky she could only watch as Eddie rushed at the leeches and attacked them with his newly grown claws. It almost seemed as if he didn't even remember about his weapons that were on him, or he was afraid to use them. Or was it that, a part of him wondered if he even had a right to use them in the first place? She didn't know, but what she did know was that Eddie was a force to be reckoned with now.

He was slashing through the monsters with ease, almost like that of a sword through paper. In fact, he was slashing at them so quickly, Ophelia thought that maybe his wings had something to do with that, maybe they could cut through walls, they don't really know and from the way he spoke before completely losing himself, it seemed that he was afraid of what he may do in this state of mind. There had to be something that she could do, something that she should do to help bring him back to himself. But what could she do?

"We may have to kill him." Said Lita, causing everyone to look at her in shock.

_"What?!"_ shouted everyone around her.

"Think about it! He's powerful, he's become a demon of some kind because of that venom… what if he attacks and kills us?" Lita pointed out.

"He is an innocent Lita." Lars said with a frown.

"Yeah, boss is amazing. Look at all that he's done for us so far!" shouted Mangus.

"He's saved our lives so many times." Ophelia said with a frown.

"Yes, I know that, but… what if he kills us though? He won't know what he's doing, he wouldn't even remember anything because there is nothing left. He's nothing more than a shell of a man who used to be our friend. Consumed by venom and demonic energy." Lita said with a frown on her face before looking up at Eddie with remorse.

No, Ophelia won't allow that to happen. She had to do something, had to make sure that Eddie came back to them with his sanity in place. So far though, it had seemed as if he had only wanted to attack the leeches as they fell over one by one. Blood, stomachs and their intestines all came pooling out of their dead bodies. Eddie would snarl and growl, screaming in rage and bloodlust. It still amazed her that he could be like this without any kind of problem. But, there was no telling what this was having on his mind or body.

Soon, the last leech fell over, dead as a doornail. Eddie remained in the sky, breathing heavily, his claws dripping in blood as well as his clothes. He let out another roar as he moved around in the sky, trying to find another target, to find and kill another and move onto the next. He was nothing but a killing machine wasn't he?

Soon, his glowing yellow orbs looked over at them, causing everyone, (excluding Ophelia) to panic. He snarled a little and almost looked like he was about to attack until something seemed to flash in his eyes for a moment. He went to fly off, until someone shouted out.

"Eddie don't go!"

Ophelia didn't want to lose him.

The roadie stopped and turned to stare at her, snarling as he did so. "Ophelia what are you doing?!" hissed Lita.

"Saving our friend." Ophelia whispered softly before walking forward. Everyone tried to get her to come back to them, but she knew that this was something that she had to do. Eddie had confide in her about his nightmare, told her about his fears and worries of the nightmare coming to fruition and she knew that she was the only one that could help him.

Just like she had promised him she would.

"Eddie, please come down. Everything is okay now, you didn't hurt us at all! You fought all of those terrible monsters that were hurting the spirits. They're safe now, thanks to you. You are still you deep down." Eddie just looked down at her, his eyes never leaving her face. It made her wonder what was going on in his head right now, what he could be going through that would allow him to just… stare at her as he was right now.

Frowning, she felt tears pooling in her eyes as she said "Please come back to us Eddie, you're our friend. I care so much about you, and I don't want to lose you." He flapped his wings, and snarled.

"Ophelia I think he's going to attack!" Mangus shouted, now afraid for the brunette.

Before she could even speak, Eddie sped toward her at high speed. Ophelia yelped and shielded her eyes as a huge dust cloud appeared, having surrounded the two of them. That was when she felt pain in her shoulder, causing her to wince from the pain, but she also felt a pair of hands on her forearms, preventing her from moving her arms.

In that moment, she thought that maybe he would kill her but then she thought about something more.

If he had wanted to kill her, he would have done so already. He wouldn't have waited this long to kill her, even while she was speaking to him. Would have only attacked and left, leaving her for dead. Another thing that she had noticed, he wasn't… doing anything really from what she could feel.

Soon, the dust cloud started to clear, causing her to see that it wasn't just what she had thought. Eddie's fangs were, indeed in her shoulder but his wings had surrounded her. As if… shielding her? Looking down, she saw blood dropping from around the two of them. But it wasn't directly from her. Turning to Eddie, she saw his body starting to tremble, and she saw what had happened.

He was shielding her from an oncoming attack.

"Eddie?" She whispered softly, his grip loosened, allowing her to reach up and run her fingers through his hair as carefully as she could without setting him off. "Are you still in there?" He looked down at her, blinking his glowing yellow eyes at her before he pulled his fangs back and whimpered when he saw what he had done. Maybe a small part of him, the demon within that desired bloodlust had indeed wanted to bite her, to kill her.

But his human heart must have been stronger in this moment.

Eddie looked back down at her wounded shoulder and started to lick her wound, his trembling grew more in intensity. What happened to him? What did he shield her from that would allow him to be this injured?

Soon, he lowered his wings, about to back off until a voice cut in.

"I missed. Didn't think he'd have enough control over himself to sweep in like he did."

Eddie acted quickly and wrapped his arms around Ophelia as he snarled at the intruder. Ophelia looked up and stared with wide eyes. It was Lionwhyte, he held his microphone stand though it seemed that he had merely sent out bolts of electricity in order to hurt her while her back was turned. Eddie saved her from the attack. Before she could even speak, Eddie tightened his hold on Ophelia, snarling in a protective manor. "Such a shame really, if it wasn't for you I could have taken him back to be my new pet. He is… rather rare if I say so myself. Perhaps next time chumps." He laughed before using his blonde hair to fly off.

Ophelia sighed softly, face smashed up against Eddie's as she looked up at him. His body still trembled but he remained standing. Amazing in itself, though it has to be due to his demon blood. He looked back down at her shoulder and whimpered like that of a wounded animal. Well, in a sense, he was at the very least wounded.

"Someone go get Kill Master, by the time he gets here, Eddie may be back to himself. I can bring him back I'm sure." Ophelia carefully called out to the others, not wanting to scare Eddie or worse, set him off.

"On it." Mangus said before he ran off.

"How are you so sure that you can bring him back?" asked Lita, concerned.

"Did you not see what he did my sister? He shielded Ophelia while in that state… he's still in there." Lars said softly.

Ophelia nodded before looking up at the roadie once again. A soft smile on her face before she reached up and gently cupped Eddie's cheek against her hand. "It's okay now Eddie, I'm safe. We're all safe… I know you didn't mean to hurt me. You fought against yourself so valiantly. You can come back to us now."

Eddie tilted his head to the side in confusion, as if he didn't know what it was that she had said to him. Yet, he leaned against her hand, nuzzling her palm almost like an animal would with someone they liked. Was he purring? "Eddie, you did well for yourself. You aren't a monster…" He looked at her when she said those words, his eyes blinking at her before he leaned in closer to her. Sniffing actually yet she could see the beginning of tears building up in his eyes. "You're not a monster." She whispered again, carefully wrapping her arms around him and held him as close to her as she could with his muscles and height playing a factor.

It seemed that the demon didn't know what to do, as if he was lost in a sea of his own emotions. Conflicted, lost and confused.

Ophelia smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair in a soothing motion, hoping to help him relax. Soon, she felt the man's large hands slowly wrap themselves around her back, he buried his face against her neck. Tears easily streaming down his cheeks and onto her skin. "I…" She heard his voice, rough and strained from all the screaming that he did. But she knew that it was a step in the right direction.

"It's okay… it's okay." She whispered, watching as the red/brown tint to his skin start to fade, as did the claws from what she could feel against her skin. His wings slowly started to recede into his back causing him to grunt in pain. Yet it seemed that the pain was nothing compared to what he thought he had done. Or maybe he knew what he did, she didn't know what was going on in his head.

"I… I'm…" Eddie whispered before pulling himself back. When she looked up at him, the young woman saw that his eyes no longer contained the yellow glow, but had gone back to their usual brown pools that she had grown to adore from the man. "I'm…" He whispered before she saw his eyes roll into the back of his head as he fell over.

_"Eddie!"_

* * *

Eddie groaned a little as he felt the pull of consciousness coming to him. Tugging him from the realm of sleep to join those of the waking world. Slowly his eyes fluttered open, allowing himself to look around as he saw that he was resting on the bus. God, how long had he been out for?

Hissing in pain, he tried to push himself off of the bed that had been set up for him, only for a voice to stop him.

"Stay in bed."

Blinking, he looked up and saw Ophelia looking down at him from a chair, a small smile on her face as she reached over and ran her fingers through his hair, and traced her fingers along his side burns. "You gave us all a scare you know."

"Ophelia…" He whispered in relief, laying back down as he gave her a small smile. "You're okay." He said with a smile.

"I should be saying that to you Eddie."

"Sorry." He answered with a chuckle before grunting in pain before looking over at her once again. "I didn't… hurt you did I?"

"Well…"

"I did…" Eddie said before rolling over onto his side, even though the pain was intense, nothing was worse than knowing that he had hurt the woman he loved. The last thing that he would ever want to do was to harm her in anyway and yet he did just that.

"Eddie, what do you remember?"

"I remember the pain from my back." He whispered, trying to think back to what it was that had happened from that point to afterwards. So many things he could recall, but at the same time he didn't know if it had been true or if it had been something his mind was doing as it had pulled him under. "I was alone in darkness, so much rage, hate and anger flowed through me." He whispered before trying to think more about it. "I also remember pain, I felt it around me and in my heart."

"You saved me Eddie."

That surprised him, the roadie turned over and looked over at Ophelia in shock and confusion. As if sensing his disbelief, she gave him a small smile. She reached out and gently took a hold of his large hand as she tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear with her free hand. "I spoke to you, hoping that would calm you down. You didn't do anything to me other than stare after you had killed the leeches." He killed the leeches on his own? Amazing. "Then I guess you saw Lionwhyte trying to attack me as he raced to get to me."

"But… I hurt you didn't I?" he whispered.

"The bite wasn't deep, I think you only did that to make sure I wouldn't move. Your wings shielded me as you took the full hit. It's why you're hurt as you are right now. You shielded me once again from Lionwhyte, wanting to make sure that I was safe at all times." She then smiled before giggling a little. "And you even purred while I tried to comfort you."

"What?"

"Yeah, you were purring. It was rather cute." Eddie felt the blush reaching up to his cheeks as he was told this. Of course he would start to purr, was it because of his love for this woman that he had gone so far out of his way to make sure that she was always safe? Or was it something more than that? Was he really stronger than he let on or was it only because of his own fears that he was taken over so easily?

Then, he recalled the words of his father.

_"Son, so long as you have a heart that is true to who you are. An idea as it were, to who you are, and what you wish to be, who you wish to protect more than anyone in this world or any world, you will never succumb to that nightmare. You are my son, as well as your mother's after all."_

His desire to protect Ophelia. That's why he didn't completely lose control wasn't it? He retained bits and pieces of who he was, even while in that monstrous form of his. Through that, he maintained his desire to protect people and to clean up the filth that was on the stage so to speak. How was it that he could still maintained something like that that could keep him in control, even if only slightly? It just didn't make sense to him but maybe it was something that would help him to figure this out. Though maybe this was only a short time thing? Or even it was the only time it would happen. Wait…

"What about the others? They saw me turn into that beast!" Eddie said in shock and panic.

Ophelia shook her head as she said "No, I told them that the Druids had blessed their weapons with demon venom. You are still in the clear."

"So… does that mean that it was the demon venom?" asked Eddie, hopeful that was all it was.

Though, when he saw the brunette frown she shook her head as she let out a soft sigh. Honestly, he feared that would be her answer. "No, I think you may be half-demon Eddie, I don't know how or why but… I think so long as you retain whatever it was that you did… you should be able to control yourself." The roadie gazed up at her for a moment before looking away. If that was the case, then those nightmares he had growing up were trying to warn him. He was a demon's child but, how was that possible? Was it even possible?

He had no idea, from what he knew his father was completely human and the demons of this world couldn't change into a human. So there had to be something more. Something that he just wasn't understanding, but right now he didn't really have any other answers. But, maybe the nightmares themselves weren't worth being scared about anymore.

If he had managed to have some kind of control that had to be a good thing right? There had to be something there but at the same time he couldn't be sure. Maybe if he was lucky, he would have his answers further down the road but for now…

"Ophelia, I'm hungry… think I could have something to eat?"

"Sure."

For now, he just wanted to have something to eat and maybe have a smoke. Yet, there was one thing that kept swimming around in his mind. While he was in that darkness, his mind kept telling him that he had to… to protect his mate. Was it truly Ophelia? Was that why he protected her rather than kill her? Maybe he'll never know.

* * *

**this was my take on Brutal Legends from when Eddie first transforms into a demon, I didn't like how he first changed with complete control when he had no idea that he was even half demon in the first place. So, I decided to rewrite this as best as I could so I hope you all enjoyed this as I will be taking a small break from this, I'll try to write in the morning of maybe a little more before I go to bed on my Toshinko stories, later.**


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